Silver 20 Swiss Francs

Everyone can agree that Switzerland has remained a bastion of economic safety and security for centuries now. The country is also renowned for having minted high silver content circulating coins for longer than the other developed countries did. These Swiss silver 5 Franc to 1/2 Franc denominated silver coins continued in circulation up to 1967. Collectors still favor them for their silver content as well as historical past. Though the country still produces circulating Swiss francs which collectors enjoy, their signature silver coins are the annually produced Silver 20 Swiss Francs pieces.

Silver 20 Swiss Francs History and Background

The Swiss confederation has produced beloved silver and gold coins for hundreds of years. In 1903, the Swissmint became the Official Mint of the Confederation. It has carried the responsibility for all of the various Swiss coins for over a century since then. The Swissmint produces all of the nation's sought after bullion coins as well as their still used franc currency. Besides this, they have earned a justly deserved reputation for their continuous production of both medals and commemorative coin issues that depict and glorify a wide range of subjects. All of these are struck in silver of high quality production.

Today's Silver 20 Swiss Francs are minted to the highest possible standards. They all showcase one of a kind designs that honor a range of themes from the rich culture of Switzerland. Each of these sought after pieces provides both high quality silver bullion and long lasting beauty in their variety of designs and subject matters. The Swissmint has made the coins all the more collectible by making sure their annual mintage is restricted to under 50,000 coins. In most years, they strike only 30,000 to 35,000 of these desirable Silver 20 Swiss Franc coins.

Silver 20 Swiss Francs Physical Characteristics

The Silver 20 Swiss Franc coins cover a wide range of popular subjects from Swiss culture. This varies from music to sports to the Red Cross. Unlike many countries' one ounce silver issues, the Swiss bullion pieces are closer to a half ounce of silver. Each coin comes directly sealed by the Swissmint. All pieces are guaranteed by their mint for quality and precious metal content. The 2016 issue was minted with an extremely limited quantity of only 30,000 coins.

Coin Design

The front side of coinage is known as the obverse of the coin. This obverse of these coins changes each year they are minted. For 2016, the Silver 20 Swiss Francs coins honor the rich tradition of music and brass bands in Switzerland. The obverse feature the Tuba brass instrument overlaid on a classical Swiss song's musical notes. The nation has earned a much deserved fame for being a home of wind music. Practically every town and village in the confederation boasts one or more wind bands. This tradition of civil winds societies in Switzerland dates back to the late 1700s and early 1800s when they became based on the idea of a military band corps.

The rear side of coins are called the reverse. These Silver 20 Swiss Francs pieces all share the same design on their reverse. The official name of the country is displayed as Confederatio Helvetica. The date of the coin and its face value are also prominently shown.

Coin Specifications

Specifications for the Silver 20 Swiss Francs coins are as follows:

Mass: .54 troy ounces

Diameter: 32.8 mm

Thickness: 2.8 mm

Content: 83.5% silver

Silver 20 Swiss Francs Pricing

Every Silver 20 Swiss Francs coin comes with a substantial 20 Swiss Francs of face value. This means that these coins are legal tender all throughout the cantons of Switzerland. In reality though, no one spends such silver coins for the face value on daily needs. The reason is that the coins have a significantly higher market value than even the around $20 USD worth of face value.

Such face value does not make up the coins' market value. Silver 20 Swiss Francs' true market value rises and falls based on the amount of supply and demand. The silver spot price also has a lot to do with the daily market value of these coins. Silver prices fluctuate on weekly trading days. It causes the value of the Silver 20 Swiss Francs coins to change most weekdays as well. You are able to learn the current live silver price by going to our home page.

Can IRA Accounts Contain Silver 20 Swiss Francs?

It is entirely up to the discretion of the IRS if they allow certain bullion coins to be held by self directed IRA accounts. For investors who are interested in opening up a precious metals IRA, they must start with a minimum $5,000 initial purchase of IRS approved precious metals. Later additions can be made with lower $1,000 minimum purchases of silver or other precious metals. Keeping tangible silver in such a retirement vehicle as the IRA offers investors a distinctive physical diversification of their investments. While stocks and bonds can rise and fall dramatically, silver does not move in tandem with these. As a time tested precious metal, it offers a reliable hedge against instability and uncertainty in stock and bond markets. Because silver costs substantially less than gold and the other precious metals, it makes a more affordable form of investment insurance. This helps to explain and ensure silver's popularity in these IRA accounts.

For silver bullion coins to be permitted by the IRS in these IRA vehicles, they have to attain to minimum levels of silver purity. The IRS requires .999 fine silver purity for any silver bullion coin to be approved. The Silver 20 Swiss Francs coins come with a .835 silver content, making them ineligible to be included in self directed IRA accounts. Besides this, their highly collectible nature and price over spot would also exclude them from the retirement accounts even if the Swissmint began to mint them with the required silver purity. The Silver 20 Swiss Francs coins still are excellent collectible and investment choices for other kinds of portfolios. You can purchase them directly from the Swissmint in brilliant uncirculated or proof conditions as well as from a variety of reputable coin dealers around the globe.

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